St Mary's Hospital

Well today me and the missus have the day off work as we have to goto St Mary's Hospital in Manchester for some tests. It turns out that her dad had a son who had cystic fibrosis so we have to both be checked out to see if we are both carriers. If so there is something like a one in four chance that our baby will be born with the disease.

I can't really say that it is something that we are both looking forward to and I have to admit I am a bit scared by it all. (I have a phobia of going to hospitals as it is) I am sure it will all be ok though, but just so we are better prepared for every little situation then it can't hurt. So yeah day off work is cool, but just could be doing something more enjoyable. lol

Impressions: Dungeon Siege 3

Dungeon Siege 3 is quite an enjoyable (but short) game overall, and reminded me of some of the old school RPG's that I used to play on the PC back in the day. (Balders Gate, NeverwinterKnights, Nox) I did find the game a bit lacking though, this could have been due to the lack of side quests but I think it has more to do with the games world not actually feeling that big, and apart from the odd deviation to do the odd side quest or two it really is rather linear with no real replay value. This is especially shocking when you consider the game also has online multi-player (Good luck finding someone playing the game these days though, as the only people I saw online were 2 people that kept joining then quitting back out of the game after 2 minutes)

Actually thinking about it Dungeon Siege 3 really wasn't worth the price I paid for it, but with the game now being resigned to selling for around £10 it is worth a look at. (If only to waste away a few hours) Dungeon Siege 3 is your bog standard old school RPG, with average graphics and sound. The control system that will see you walk through the game without hardly ever using the block button, as when you need to use it enemies use magic that just passes right through your defences.

One other gripe I had with the game is that you can easily end up getting killed as one enemy will hit you and your energy will just disappear yet other times the same enemy can hit you and it just knocks a little segment off your health bar. I also didn't like how you couldn't compare items in the shop with items you already owned, which meant on occasions you would buy something that was inferior to what you already owned. Thinking about it now Dungeon Siege 3 has lots of annoying little niggles that make the game pretty frustrating and when added together do seem quite bad that doesn't make it a bad game overall, just so badly flawed in parts that ended up making me give it a lower score.

Failed Impressions: DC Universe Online Free To Play

DC Universe Online has now gone free to play (free to play could also read: DC Universe Online's attempt to get more people playing it?) on the PS3. So when I got in from work last night I decided to download the game and give it a go. I have to admit I was shocked that it was only 125mb, then after that installed I got a message saying there was an update which once again was 125mb. What then followed was a nice screen with some of the DC characters on it and a long ass bar that said over 14gig of game data needed to be downloaded.

Needless to say I never got chance to play it at all last night as it took forever to download (even worse is the fact that I have to go through the whole thing again tonight to put the game on my son's PS3) So basically I left my system on over night then woke up this morning to be asked which world I wanted to join. (PvE or PvP) I picked PvE as at 6am I couldn't really give a crap, this was then followed by a storyline video and about 10 minutes of rushing through the character creation system so I could get at least sometime trying the game. (I picked to play as a villain I don't know why but it always seems to be the path I choose when given the option)

Graphically the game doesn't look to bad and the initial controls seem to be solid enough to start with, so basically in-between getting showered, dressed and ready for work I managed to squeeze in a measly 10 minutes of game-play. This saw me beat up a few guards and a bigger type of defence droid, I have to say the game does seem like it will be pretty good and I think I will enjoy it. I just can't really say if it's worth sticking with the free to play version or upgrading to the pay monthly one. If you can be bothered downloading over 14gig of data and not being able to use your PS3 for the day then I would recommend giving it a try. (although it is boring just watching the download bar move ever so slowly along)

Impressions: Pixel Junk SideScroller

I like Pixel Junk they make some amazing games with a retro style, yet these games have a lot more hidden underneath that make them a joy to play. I was going to dismiss SideScroller as it really didn't look that good to me to be honest, and if it wasn't for the fact that one of my buddies bought it and I downloaded it from his account I wouldn't have played it.

If I am honest I have to say that SideScroller is a bit of a let down, sure it's a solid enough game in it's own way. It just feels a bit of a let down though when Pixel Junk released a game as good as Pixel Junk Shooter 2 only a short time ago, then from that they release this? Yes I know they are both different styles of games but still it just feels a bit underwhelming.

That's not to say that SideScroller doesn't have some nice touches, the enemies are all pretty recognisable if you have ever played either of the Shooter games. The colours are all bright and do make the game a pleasure to play along with some nice effects. I just feel the game is just all a bit to 1980's, sure you have the choice of 3 different weapons to use (Machine gun, Laser or Bombs) as well as a spin attack that you have to charge up to use. I just can't help but feel I have played the game before with different graphics back in the day.

Maybe my opinion will change over time and I may end up liking the game with a bit more time (although I doubt it) This game just feels like it is missing the usual Pixel Junk touches that make each of their games so enjoyable to play. I would recommend maybe giving this game a miss unless you like 2d old school shmups (even then prepared to be a bit disappointed) so far that reason I would have to give Pixel Junk's SideScroller a

1st Baby Scan :)

While not really gaming related I just had to share this :) We just got back from the hospital (after 2 hours of being bored which was all worth it) and the good news is that everything is as it should be with the baby, even better is that he/she is even younger than we (and the doctor & midwife) first thought by 5 weeks. So at the moment my missus is 10 weeks and 2 days into her pregnancy which gives us another few weeks before we have to get everything. (Also leaving more money for games :p )

Impressions: inFamous Festival of Blood

inFamous is one of those games that I bought at launch and never really got around to playing for more than an hour or so. (Mainly due to my mate borrowing it and not returning it for about a month by which time I was playing something else so couldn't be arsed with it, plus by then I had dismissed it as just a crackdown clone) So just why I bought inFamous: Festival of Blood is beyond me, I think it was the price and the fact that being a member of Playstation Plus I got an extra bit off that tempted me to get it.

In festival of blood Cole brings back to life the vampire queen Bloody Mary (Whoever thought of that shitty name needs a swift kick to the head) who then ends up turning him into a vampire. Left with the choice of either defeating the vampire before sunrise or becoming her slave for eternity Cole has little choice but to kick her ass back to hell. (Or wherever dead vampires go when they die before being resurrected)

What then follows is a very enjoyable action game that has you searching for vampires, fighting vampires and er.. other vampire stuff including biting innocent civilians necks to feed on their blood to gain the power of flight. (Which see's you turning into a swarm of bats) You also gain vampire vision and sense that sees your head turning read when a first born vampire is around. Activating your vamp vision makes humans turn pink while the first borns are blue, this makes it easier to spot them so you can stab them in the face with the stake/sword combo you carry about.

Festival weighs in with around 4-5 hours or so of game play if you don't include the UGC (User generated content) which is basically a pile of shite, or run through the game as quick as you can. Personally I quite enjoyed the whole experience of playing Festival of Blood and would recommend getting it due to the low price. (around £8 or so) Some people may moan about the short amount of time it takes to complete, yet to me it feels just right as you can't really drag the storyline out any more than Sucker Punch did without it getting tiresome. I would have to say that the best part of the game for me was the flying through the city as bats, I really thought that was a really nice touch and added something new. Overall I would have to give inFamous: Festival of Blood a solid